LBI Fluke – Reel Reaction Charters Fishing Report

Fluke still remains “on-fire” with the Ocean producing much better action as compared to the bay. For example, we had a 3 man limit of 9 keeper Fluke to 25.5 inches in just 2 hours and 20 minutes!! Epic Fishing to say the least!! I understand some get sea-sick and have to stay in the bay, but I highly recommend running to the Ocean as there tends to be more quality fish and less short fish. The bay bite is still good for the young ones in terms of action with most trips producing a steady 30 to 40 fish, but only 2 to 5 keepers. Although we haven’t been targeting them, the jetties are still producing Bluefish, Striped Bass, and even some small Weakfish further off. Reminder: We continue to run 7 days a week until September and we are now starting to book our Fall Striped Bass trips.

I had return clients Eric Haase, his wife Mary, and their friends Craig Fordyce and his girlfriend Caitlyn Torres on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. We had very tough conditions with higher than predicted winds, and wind-against tide situations at quite a few spots. But the charter stuck with it and with repeated drifts the crew caught over 30 Fluke with 5 keepers to 22.5 inches on bucktails. Awesome job for a challenging day!

I had return client Tom Dillon Jr and his cousin Mike Kelly of North Jersey on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. Tom’s dad was supposed to go, but got caught up with work so Tommy’s cousin jumped on. We worked some of the same areas as last week’s trip and had steady activity at most of the spots. The two released over 25 Fluke with very close to 18 inches, but they were able to box 3 keepers at 18, 19, 19.5 inches. Nice Job!! I look forward to seeing them for our fall Striped Bass fishery.

I had return client Tim Murphy and his son Kevin of Jamison, PA out on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. With a brief discussion prior to the trip, the father-son team opted for the ocean. Great choice, as we limited out on 9 keeper Fluke to 25.5 inches in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Tim was the high hook catching the most and two biggest fish at 25.5 and 24.5 inches. All fish were caught on bucktails and were quality sized (18, 18.5, 19, 19, 20, 20.5, 23, 25.5, 24.5). Great job by the guys and look forward to seeing them in November for Striped Bass.

In the afternoon, I had return client Erik Lundbeck, his son Axel, nephew Arthur and Arthur’s girlfriend Ana Paden on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. We started working the inlet area, but had strong tidal current and winds which made it challenging to say the least. With success in the morning, we ran to the same Ocean area but could only muster 2 keeper Fluke (19, 21 inches) among shorts. We had much quicker drifting conditions and many more Brown sharks in the area. We did see one small, what appeared to be a 2.5-3ft Blacktip shark in the area. 10yr old Axel did end up hooking up with a 4-5 foot Brown shark that ended up hitting his short fluke on the way up. Tougher conditions, but still pretty good action for the crew!

And to close out the week, I had new client Steven Hartley, his wife Debbie Edmiston, and her son Tristan of Philadelphia, Pa on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. We started working some of the same bay areas as the day prior and had to weed through the shorts to find keepable fish. After some moving around, they trio found 2 keepers at 19 and 20 inches. Good job for their first time bucktailing!

If interested in booking a charter, book through the website (www.reelreactioncharters.com) or call/text 609-290-7709. As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included: gear, tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE! It’s “no worries” fishing. Just come aboard and FISH.

**The tide data above is for the Ocean Front Beaches of Long Beach Island. It is sourced from Brainware’s Tide Graph Pro, an awesome tide app for smartphones. The data is slightly different from the tide chart provided at our store. Printed copies are available in store.